Ezzy shifts to join them and I fall back, don’t push, don’t ask more. She’s already flinched once, press any harder and she’ll start wondering why I care so much. So I ease off, let her fill the silence as we keep walking. One potential exit down. One lanky, awkward officer to revisit later.
A few minutes later, down the corridor and up two flights of narrow stairs worn smooth by boots and years—we push through a set of wide wooden doors, and the air shifts immediately. Colder, denser. A circular amphitheatre opens up ahead. Seats rise in concentric tiers around a sunken floor, wide, flat, padded—the kind built to absorb impact.
Ezzy moves ahead, already pointing things out, her voice lighter again now, bouncing off the high ceilings, but I linger near the threshold, letting the space settle around me. Because whatever happens here, It doesn’t look gentle.
“Welcome to the Recreation Hall, or as we call it the Rec Hall.” Finn shouts from the centre of the mat, throwing his arms wide next to Rowan like he’s just been crowned king of the arena.
“What’s this used for?” I call out to them.
“Combat training,” Ezzy says, glancing back grinning.
Recreation Hall. Right. Nothing says relaxing pastime like body slams and near-death experiences.
“Last year, it was all theory and magic,” she continues. “Thread work, magical Demonstrations, essays. But this year...” her eyes brighten, eager “...we finally get to add physical combat.” She says it like it’s some grand adventure. Then she glances at the mat and shrugs. “It’s not really my area ofexpertise. I’m better with my Threads... but Rowan and Finn,” she jerks a thumb over her shoulder, “they basicallylivefor this place. They like to come here in the afternoons and practice. So Itag along. Try not to get hit. They’ve been helping me get better, and in return, I help them with more of the theory and academic stuff. Finn's not the brightest... ”
“Hey, I heard that.” Finn huffs from the centre. Ezzy just lifts a brow, a silentand?
I almost laugh. Yeah. No shit this isn’t her strength. That naivety of hers is already a liability, but this room? This is where it’ll really get her hurt.
On the mat in front, Finn and Rowan are already circling each other, sparring, half-pushing-half-joking, but I have to admit there’s also real form beneath it.
Clean movements, quick feet. I watch them for a second longer than I mean to. They’re good. Better than I would’ve guessed. Polished. Fast. And although they are not as good as me, they still could be worth something. Maybe even worth keeping around...
Ezzy turns, gesturing toward the stone tiers with a brighter smile. “Oh, and this is where Call Week happens too.”
“Call Week?” I question.
“It’s… intense,” she says. “It’s like, a sanctioned challenge period at the end of spring before the ball. Grudges, scores, power plays. They all get aired out that week, here, in front of everyone.” She gestures toward the mat like it’s sacred ground. “Each morning, for one week, they post a list, where you get to nominate others. If you get Called, if your name’s on it, you fight. No choice, no backing out. Anything goes. You don’t even get toldwhysomeone called you.” She tries to smile, but it wavers. “Some people use it to prove something. Others just want to hurt someone. And a few… a few do it just because theycan.And yeah, people die.”
I stare at her. “That sounds… fucked up. Like a purge. A culling.” I make a quick mental note to make sure I'm out of here before that.
Ezzy blinks, caught off guard. “No, it’s not like that. It’s just… structure.” She gestures around the Rec Hall again. “It prevents people from going after each other outside sanctioned times. Keeps things controlled. Focused. Safe.”
Safe. This time, a small huff actually slips out, but luckily, she doesn’t notice and just keeps talking.
“And it kind of…sorts the strong from the weak... So no one graduates who can’t handle it. Besides, it’s not like someone likemeis ever going to get nominated.”
It comes out so light and careless. Like that possibility’s so far outside her orbit, it’s not even worth her worrying about. She nods toward the boys, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
“Do you wanna come join us? Finn’s gonna show us some upper arm work today. Don’t tell him I told you but he’s actually really good.”
I glance at the floor where Finn and Rowan are moving and bite back another laugh. Becausegoodis relative. And when you’ve spent your life scraping by in the Outerlands—where magic’s outlawed and survival means knowing how to use your hands to put someone down before they can draw a blade—well, you learn a different kind of combat.
So yeah, they’re good.
But I’m better.
“Thanks,” I say instead, voice easy. “But it’s been a long day. You guys knock yourselves out, I’m just going to head back to the dorm, get settled.”
“You sure?”
For a second I hesitate, I mean, I could join, let them see what I’m capable of. Start planting seeds, fear, respect... But showing my hand now? That’s not survival. That’s spectacle. And I’ve already got a Veirmont breathing down my neck.
“Yes. I’m sure,” I reply.
Ezzy tilts her head. “Do you know the way? I can come with you if?—”
“No,” I cut in, firm, but not unkind. “I’ve got it. Courtyard, main stairwell, fourth floor. Air Realm dorms. Right?”
